Surveillance camera systems are commonly used to monitor various areas in a place of business, such as cashier windows at a bank or gambling tables at a casino. Typically, an operator of such a surveillance system is located at a central location from which he/she controls one or more camera units that are remotely positioned throughout the area to be monitored. The remote units are often mounted in hemispherical domes that are suspended from the ceiling of the monitored area. By using a keyboard console, the operator selects images from the remote cameras to be displayed on one or more video monitors. Some systems include a joy stick on the control console to permit the operator to reposition a camera in order to obtain a better view of a particular zone of observation.
State of the art video cameras include a plurality of adjustable features. Consequently, as the number of cameras in a surveillance system increases, the task of controlling the cameras becomes significantly more difficult. .As a result, the operator must spend a significant amount of time on adjusting the various camera functions, and thus has less time to spend viewing the images acquired by the cameras. Moreover, the complexity of video cameras and surveillance units now being used in camera surveillance systems and the multitude of adjustable features incorporated in them further increases the difficulty of the operator's function. Consequently, a need has arisen for means to more readily control the greater array of functions available in a camera surveillance system, in order to operate such a system more effectively.
One particular problem that is frequently encountered occurs when a person being observed through a remote camera surveillance unit walks directly below the remote camera unit and then continues walking beyond the unit. Generally, such a person is tracked by operating the joy stick on the camera control console while simultaneously observing the person's movement on a video monitor. However, when the person passes under the dome, one of two problems occurs. Either the image on the monitor appears inverted or the operator neglects to manually pivot the camera in order to maintain a proper image and, at least temporarily, loses site of the person being tracked. It would be highly advantageous to have a surveillance camera system that automatically pivots the camera under such circumstances.
Another difficulty often encountered by a surveillance system operator is having to repeatedly view multiple locations in a monitored area in relatively quick succession. For example, a single camera may be used to monitor several gambling tables in a casino or several cashier windows in a bank. To further complicate matters, not only does the operator have to quickly and accurately position the camera, but he/she also has to adjust the camera zoom, focus, and/or white balance setting. It would be advantageous if the surveillance camera system automatically adjusted the camera settings based on the camera's position. It would be better yet, to be able to record a sequence of camera positions and a set of camera settings associated with each position so that the recorded sequence could be played back as desired with little or no operator intervention.
Yet another disadvantage of the known surveillance camera systems relates to the difficulty of installing and servicing the systems. More specifically, the buildings in which the remote camera units are deployed have ceiling heights or constructions that usually vary from building to building. The ceilings may be constructed from tiles or panels that are badly warped. Furthermore, the thickness of the ceiling panels or tiles varies from site to site. The known systems leave something to be desired in accommodating such variations. Further still, in many cases, the ceiling-mounted camera unit is accessible only with a long ladder. Obtaining access to the interior of the camera unit often requires a service technician to simultaneously handle several pieces including tools, test equipment, a dome, a decorative ring, and any components requiring replacement. In the known systems, testing of the camera unit requires communication with another individual located at the camera system control console. It suffices to say that installation and servicing under such conditions is very difficult and can be dangerous. Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to have a remote camera unit that is easy to install and service.